"At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points..." Trooper Ion Idriess

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre aims to present an accurate history as chroniclers of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre site holds over 12,000 entries and is growing daily.

One of the most complete set of Light Horse unit signals at Gallipoli belongs to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Signals provide a window into the unvarnished form of history. These are the comments made by people who had important needs that required immediate attention. As such, they tell a story about a campaign that existed before the occurence of the newspaper reports leading to the Official Histories and all the other works that followed. Since they do not originate in a vacuum, it is the immediacy of the signal in a dense communication transfer that gives it a unique currency. It is a moment in time. We need all the other items such as the War Diary, Routine Orders and lastly, the published books to get a fully appreciation of the humble signal.

To ensure that this appreciation is available to many, over the coming months, a series of signals will be posted commencing from April till December.

Apart from the War Diary which presents a reflected view of Regimental history, one of the best sources of understanding the immediate challenges facing a regiment is to be found in the Routine Orders. They are a wealth of detail.

In this case, the 22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Orders for 1918 have been highlighted to illustrate the tempo of this formation from the beginning of the year towards the end of the war. The aim is to illustrate the tumultuous year that followed ending in the defeat of Germany. Too little is known of the role regarding the Light Horse in the drama on the Western Front. This should address some shortfalls of information.

2823 Private Herbert Leslie SCHRAMM, a 22 year old Farmer from Whites River, South Australia. He enlisted on 17 February 1916; and at the conclusion of the war Returned to Australia, 10 July 1919.

During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, Bert Schramm kept a diary of his life. Bert was not a man of letters so this diary was produced with great effort on his behalf. Bert made a promise to his sweetheart, Lucy Solley, that he would do so after he received the blank pocket notebook wherein these entries are found. As a Brigade Scout since September 1918, he took a lead part in the September Offensive by the Allied forces in Palestine. Bert's diary entries are placed alongside those of the 9th Light Horse Regiment to which he belonged and to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to which the 9th LHR was attached. On this basis we can follow Bert in the context of his formation.

The Diaries

The complete diary is now available on the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre Site at:

Advance party from 1st Light Horse Regiment reported at 1100 and took over Area Stores.

Day was spent in cleaning area preparatory to move.

Regiment relieved by 1st Light Horse Regiment at 1930 and moved via Old Road to Talaat ed Dumm arriving at 2345. Splendid march discipline was observed throughout.

3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary

General Officer in Command, 1st Light Horse Brigade assumed command of No. 3 and 4 sub - sectors on night of 22nd August and in completion of relief 3rd Light Horse Brigade marched to Talaat ed Dumm en route Ludd, where the Australian Mounted Division concentrated.

The Brigade arrived at Ludd on 22nd August and camped among; the olive groves there. Reinforcements, [but not sufficient to bring the Units up to establishment], came forward. Equipment was got up to date and swords, the long straight cavalry pointing pattern, were issued to all ranks. The Cavalry or double rank drill was adopted; Cavanaugh, Major, the GSO 2 of the Division, put a class of Officers through sword drill, these Officers then became the instructors of the troops. Two imperial cavalry sergeant instructors were borrowed from the Imperial School of Instruction, Moascar, and they assisted in the instruction. The instruction which the Brigade had received at Deir el Belah during the previous February and March in the use of the bayonet as a sword now bore fruit. After a few lessons the men were passed by the Imperial Instructors as quite competent to operate against the Turkish cavalry. Troops were exercised in shock tactics with rapid detachment of machine guns and Light Horse Regiment Hotchkiss Rifle to the flank. Up to now we had always carried 230 rounds of ammunition on the men; in view of the issue of swords this was now reduced to 180, 90 in the bandolier on the man and 90 in a second bandolier on his horse. Intensive training was carried out throughout the Brigade until 18th September 1918.

Nominal Roll, AWM133, Nominal Roll of Australian Imperial Force who left Australia for service abroad, 1914-1918 War.

War Diaries and Letters

All War Diaries and letters cited on this site should be read in conjunction with the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, War Diaries and Letters, Site Transcription Policy which may be accessed at:

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